We envision a fully integrated Center for the Arts at UVA that expands opportunities for students to pursue their creativity across various artistic disciplines. Our goal is to create a welcoming, inviting, and inclusive arts space that connects and engages both our community and visitors.
The University’s 2030 Plan recognizes the unique potential of the Emmet-Ivy corridor. This area, known as “Open Grounds,” comprises three interconnected nexuses: Creativity, Democracy, and Discovery.
Creativity: A new Center for the Arts integrating a Performing Art Center, a new museum building housing the Fralin and Kluge-Ruhe museums and the relocation of the Music Department and dance program all under one roof.
Democracy: The Karsh Institute of Democracy and elements of the Batten School will find their home in a signature building within the Emmet-Ivy corridor.
Discovery: The School of Data Science, which opened in April 2024, is already contributing to cross-disciplinary discovery.
UVA President Jim Ryan announced at a Board of Visitors meeting a $50 million lead gift from Tessa Ader for the building of a performing arts center at the University.
In 2021, the University received a generous gift of $50M from Tessa Ader towards a core component of the Creativity nexus: a new Performing Arts Center (PAC). The Richard and Tessa Ader Performing Arts Center will, for the first time ever in UVA’s history, provide a state-of-the-art, acoustically superior, 21st-century performance and rehearsal space and will encompass a 1,200-seat large hall, 150-seat small hall, interdisciplinary arts space, and a dedicated area for dance – enabling the University to host concerts, dance performances, theater productions, and more in a facility unparalleled in Central Virginia.
The boldness of the generous gift from Tessa Ader for the PAC and the extraordinary enthusiasm of our students, faculty, and supporters in the arts have challenged the University to realize its vision for the Creativity nexus to its fullest extent. With the Performing Arts Center as the foundation, the University’s ambition is to build a broader and more deeply integrated vision for the arts and creativity at Emmet-Ivy – a Center for the Arts. The Center for the Arts will relocate the Music Department (currently housed in Old Cabell Hall), Dance and the University’s two museums (the Fralin and the Kluge-Ruhe) with expanded exhibition, education and communication engagement spaces, adjacent to the planned Performing Arts Center.
To that end, UVA has engaged the services of Diamond Schmitt, Selldorf Architects, VMDO and other consultants to help with preliminary planning. This work will allow us to provide more details to the important insights into program opportunities. Preliminary planning will extend through summer 2024 to be presented to the Board of Visitors in December at which point the University will assess the scope of the project to move forward with design.
To realize this vision, we depend on significant financial support from both the state and private philanthropy. Passionate supporters who recognize the arts’ impact on academic missions, student experiences, and the wider Charlottesville community have already stepped up. If you want to be involved or learn more about the project including naming right opportunities, please contact Cameron Mowat, Director University Arts Development at cm2sd@virginia.edu or on 434- 282-3289.
The Performing Arts Center at UVA will expand opportunities for students to pursue their creativity through different artistic disciplines while creating a welcoming, inviting, and inclusive arts space to connect and engage our community and visitors.
